In reality, this shifty-looking man was nothing more than an actor Amy had paid to put on a show.
The moment he spotted Amy approaching with Madge and me, his performance kicked into high gear. He turned to the gathering crowd, voice rising with practiced distress. "Why would I lie about something like this?"
"I was walking along the shore last night—I saw it with my own eyes! A man lost his footing and fell into the sea." His hands trembled convincingly. "I wanted to save him, I really did, but the waves were brutal. The moment he hit the water, the current dragged him under. There was nothing I could do!"
"Look—" He fumbled for his phone, swiping to a photo and thrusting the screen toward the onlookers. "I even managed to snap a picture of him before it happened!"
The face in the photograph was unmistakably Theo's.
Amy let out a strangled gasp and lunged forward, snatching the phone from his hands. She stared at the screen, then whipped around to face Madge and me, her voice cracking with manufactured panic. "It's really him—it's Mr. Mason! Something terrible has happened to him!"
Madge and I played our parts flawlessly, our faces crumpling with shock and grief.
By nightfall, news of Theo Mason's tragic drowning had spread across every social platform in the city.
And riding that same digital wave came something else—whispers, then shouts, accusing me of cheating on my husband during our marriage.
Theo was making his move from the shadows.
I knew exactly where he was hiding: tucked away in Amy's apartment, waiting for us to take the bait. All Madge and I had to do was show up with witnesses, and we'd catch him red-handed.
But we didn't.
Over the following days, Amy threw herself into her role with nauseating dedication. She fussed over Madge constantly—Are you eating enough? You look so pale—while shooting me looks of barely concealed disgust. She made sure to mention the online rumors about my alleged affair, always within Madge's earshot, always with that infuriating air of innocent concern.
I found Theo's diary too—the one he'd planted for me to discover, pages dripping with fabricated heartbreak and carefully constructed lies. I read every word.
Then I smiled and tucked it away for safekeeping.
In front of Amy, Madge and I gave her exactly what she wanted to see: a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at each other's throats. We argued. We snapped. We let the venom fly until Amy was utterly convinced we'd destroyed each other.
What Amy didn't know was that behind closed doors, Madge and I had already made a quiet trip to the Police Bureau.
Why?
To officially register Theo Mason as deceased.
In my previous life, after Theo's fake death, both Madge and I had been drowning in grief—easy targets for Amy's manipulation. It never occurred to either of us to file the paperwork that would legally erase him.
That oversight cost us everything.
When Madge suddenly fell ill from the slow-acting poison, when I was thrown out with shattered limbs and nothing to my name—Theo had waltzed back into existence and claimed her entire fortune without a single obstacle.
Not this time.
Now Theo Mason was officially dead. A ghost in the system.
And ghosts can't inherit anything.
The Police Bureau wasn't our only stop. Madge and I also visited the Notary Office.
All of it done in secret. All of it invisible to Amy's watchful eyes.
On the surface, our war continued to escalate. We even staged a few public screaming matches for good measure.
One month after Theo's "drowning," Madge and I delivered our masterpiece.
A spectacular, very public meltdown.
I was thrown out of the mansion in disgrace. Madge collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, reportedly devastated by her ungrateful daughter-in-law's betrayal.
The internet devoured every detail.
Meanwhile, in Amy's apartment, Theo lounged in his pajamas with Amy draped across his lap. He scrolled through the headlines about our falling out, a slow, satisfied grin spreading across his face.
"It's happening," he murmured, pulling her closer. "Myra and my dear adoptive mother have finally torn each other apart. Our plan is almost complete."
He nuzzled Amy's hair, still scrolling. "I know that old woman better than anyone. She puts on this gentle facade, but underneath? Steel. She built that empire from nothing through sheer force of will. A woman like that would never tolerate a daughter-in-law who cheated on her precious son."
His grin sharpened. "Keep the pressure on. Flood the networks with more rumors about Myra's affair. Throw in some stories about her badmouthing me and my mother after getting kicked out." He chuckled, dark and low. "The old bat will send someone to break every bone in Myra's body. And then..."
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
Amy smiled against his chest, already reaching for her phone.
